Weather: Fair and clear
Kelly and I busted our humps prepping the Dragonfly for launch today. Though we had not chosen a new name for the DF, we knew HR, while clever, was not ours. Mid afternoon, the travel lift comes and there is a discussion regarding the new lines I'd placed on the boats lift points. "Are the going to hold?" "According to the manufacturer, yes."
Well, after the delivery day goat rope, and since I could not find the stainless steel cable set that came with the boat for lifting via a travel lift, I had purchased some short dyneema lines and used bowlines to attach them to the boat. These dyneema lines are rated at 10,000 lbs each and since the boat only weighs 5100 pounds empty, I thought they would hold just fine. What I did not know is dyneema is slippery, requiring some special knots or splicing techniques.
Everything was hooked up and the boat lifted about 3ft up and the port aft line's bowline slipped and came undone. The boat's port side aka/vaka shoulder slammed down onto the cradle. The boat then swung to starboard, over-stressing the starboard aft dyneema line. The bowline tried to hold, but the friction of the moving dyneema caused the dyneema to melt and the stern dropped, punching the cradles port/aft support into the inside port ama.
As the dust settled, the yard workers scattered to the far side of the yard. Those working on there boats stopped to stare. I was standing alone, staring at the boat, bow still suspended and the stern sitting on the ground. Kelly tried to comfort, but I wanted none of it. All I could think of was 'what to do?' This was outside of my experience.
Fortunately, there was a professional right around the corner. He came over in about 10 minutes and took charge. The bow was supported to prevent another fall. The straps were put back in place and the stern lifted off the cradle, the cradle removed and the boat placed on standard boatyard supports.
Damage was a 12x12in hole punched into the port ama. The aka/vaka shoulder was also damaged. I called RT and he had words of wisdom, "Its just fiberglass." All was repairable.
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